


Sighting Spirits

by Obsessed_Fander



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Can be read as either way, HIS LAMP, I mean that's kind of a given but just warning you, I'm writing an epilogue and I might make it romantic, Possible romantic Prinxiety?, Spoilers for the newest Sanders Asides, also, eyeshadow, i can't, idk yet tho, my heart, spoilers for flirting with social anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:00:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26973295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obsessed_Fander/pseuds/Obsessed_Fander
Summary: Nico Flores has noticed a few strange things about the cute guy he's been talking to, Thomas Sanders. For one, he seems to talk to himself, though he supposes that's not too weird. But when he catches a glimpse of someone in the mirror, he comes to the natural conclusion.Thomas Sanders is haunted.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Karrot Kings, Nico Flores/Thomas Sanders, Thomas Sanders/Nico Flores, Virgil Sanders & Roman Sanders
Comments: 46
Kudos: 383





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of this Tumblr post: https://what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me.tumblr.com/post/631640558129070080/imagine-nico-thinking-thomas-is-haunted-by

Nico hadn’t really noticed anything at first. Sure, Thomas had seemed to talk to himself in the mall, but everyone talked to themselves when they were nervous, didn’t they? And based on just how nervous he had been when he’d finally got the courage to speak to him, it was more than expected. 

It was when they’d started hanging out more that he began to see some of the strange things going on around him. Objects would move on their own, not much, like someone had accidentally bumped into them. Occasionally, when he and Thomas were getting really close, the light next to the Tv would turn on, and it was almost as though he could hear faint squealing, though he ignored it, figuring it was just his imagination. 

Some of Thomas’ things would go missing and show up randomly later on, in a completely different place, and sometimes his food would disappear way faster than it should’ve, though he wasn’t one to judge Thomas’ eating habits, whatever they were - god knows he’s had his questionable eating habits before. 

The weirdest thing was though, when he’d walk in on Thomas apparently talking to himself in his living room, he’d even caught him having a heated debate with what seemed to be several people, though he couldn’t see any of them, and when he noticed Nico he gave the same excuse of practicing his lines.

He would’ve dismissed it, thinking nothing much of it; everyone had their quirks, after all - if it weren’t for something strange he’d seen one day when he’d walked in on Thomas “rehearsing” once again, this time in his bedroom.

Nico had simply left to go to the bathroom, but when he returned, Thomas was having a hushed and quick conversation with the air around him, looking pointedly at different spots as though multiple people were speaking. Thomas clearly knew he was coming back at any moment, and didn’t want to get caught. Nico was growing more concerned, but that was when he saw it.

In the mirror he saw two other people, both looking startlingly similar to Thomas. One wore dark clothing, the other had a prince outfit? He blinked and they were gone, and Thomas was smiling at him like nothing had happened. Perhaps it had just been his mind playing a trick on him? He ignored it for the rest of the night, and everything went smoothly from there.

He began thinking after that, trying to figure out what was going on. Was Thomas experiencing hallucinations? Was something wrong? He didn’t want to pry into Thomas’ life, especially when he was so hesitant to speak up about it, but he wasn’t about to turn Thomas away if he needed help. But still, that didn’t seem like it, something about the way he acted told him it was something else.

It wasn’t until late one night, staying up way past when he should to work on one of his writing pieces, that it struck him. Now, while he wasn’t particularly superstitious himself, he had written his fair share of paranormal stories, and he wouldn’t be all too surprised if some of them turned out to be true, in some way. 

So, with that revelation in mind, he began thinking of ways to go about asking Thomas about the ghosts in his house. Thomas didn’t seem to mind them, and the more time went on the more harmless they seemed, they were mostly benevolent - though certainly weird, as at least one of them kept taking bites out of Thomas’ deodorant and soap.

It ended up being more difficult than he expected to broach the topic, considering just how uncomfortable Thomas looked whenever Nico happened to catch a glimpse of him talking to air or glancing around the room as if people were speaking. He didn’t want to push Thomas past his comfort zone, but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

Finally, one afternoon as they were hanging out at Thomas’ place, it happened again. Only, this time, they didn’t disappear the second he saw them in the mirror, and he plucked up the courage to actually ask.

“Hey, Thomas?” He asked, and he saw one of the two he’d first seen - wearing a blacking coat with purple splotches, his hood pulled tight over his head - hunch in on himself, looking more scared than he’d ever expected a ghost to be. He tried to keep an eye on the mirror out of the corner of his eyes without seeming too distracted.

“Yeah?” Thomas asked back, and this time Nico could see how anxious he was, despite him putting on a casual smile and trying to hide it.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He said, and instantly the figure hunched down further, trying to curl themselves into a ball. Another figure appeared, though he couldn’t see their face, the angle they were at didn’t reflect their face, and they wrapped their arms around the worried one. He forced himself to look away before it became suspicious. 

“Go ahead.” Thomas said, a concerned look on his face. Nico took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. It was a simple question, and Thomas surely had to have realized he knew something was up.

“What’s up with the ghosts in your apartment? Or whatever they are?” Instantly he froze, as did the two figures he could see reflected in the small mirror. 

“Wh- what?” He choked out, looking panicked. Nico looked down, fidgeting with hands.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to answer yet, I get that. But I’ve been noticing these spirits… or something… like to hang around your apartment. Things go missing, get moved around, and I know you say you’re rehearsing, but…” He trailed off, and Thomas’ eyes widened, a stricken look on his face. He saw the hunched up figure mouthing something, presumably speaking to Thomas, though Nico couldn’t hear it. 

He seemed frantic, and Thomas grew more fearful with each word he spoke. “And… I can see them in the mirrors.” He admitted, and instantly the dark figure’s eyes snapped over the mirrors, meeting his. It was then that he realized just how similar he looked to Thomas - though one eye was purple, the other green, and he had eyeshadow under his eyes. He looked like he was trying to hide his eyes under his bangs, but when he made eye contact he jumped back like he’d been burned.

“Oh.” Thomas said, shocked. What else was there for him to say? Sorry, those aren’t ghosts, they’re parts of me? 

“Again, I totally get it if you don’t want to talk about it, I just… I couldn’t help but wonder, you know? And they don’t seem harmful, to the best of my knowledge they’re nice… except the one who eats your soap… but still.” At this he saw another figure appear - just suddenly pop into existence, blocking his view of the other two. He wore a complicated outfit of black and green, and he sat right in front of the mirror, locking eyes with him. He smiled right at Nico and took out a stick of his own deodorant, taking a bite out of it. Nico smiled in confusion and mild disgust, but who was he to question the spirit?

“Oh, yeah, him.” Thomas chuckled nervously, and he glanced at the mirror. Sure enough, his sides’ reflections showed up, and he smiled anxiously at Nico. “You’re not… freaked out?” He asked carefully, flinching as Virgil smacked him. Nico frowned in worry, but shook his head.

“No, though I am worried if they’re hurting you.” He said, and Thomas shook his head with a laugh.

“Nah, he just doesn’t like it when I make stupid decisions.” He said, and Nico thought for a moment.

“They can interact with physical objects, right?” Thomas nodded “I can’t hear them, but maybe they could write to me? If that’s okay? I’d love to be able to talk to them.” He said, and Thomas stared in surprise.

“Uh, I mean, sure, if you want to.” He said, glancing around, and whatever their response was it seemed to be positive, because Thomas calmed significantly. He got up and grabbed a dry erase board and marker he had, and suggested they head down to the living room. It took a few moments, but once they were set up he let them write.

‘Why don’t you hate us?’ Was the first message, in purple marker. Nico frowned, and someone quickly erased it, though he had a feeling that it wasn’t the writer who did so. 

“Why would I? You’re not causing any harm, and you’ve done nothing wrong.” He said, and there was a moment where nothing happened. For a second he was afraid he’d said the wrong thing, when the marker lifted again, writing out another message.

‘Aren’t you scared of us though?’ And in the corner, the green marker began drawing small images of dicks. Nico snorted, before focusing back on the actual message.

“Not really.” He said seriously “You’ve done nothing for me to be scared of, and I’m a writer so I’ve grown used to the ideas of ghosts and spirits, or whatever supernatural beings you guys are." He said, watching the message slowly get erased. The green one began to scribble again.

‘I’m a demon!’ It said excitedly, a smiley face with horns underneath it. Thomas rolled his eyes.

“No, he’s not. That one’s Remus, he’s the one who keeps eating my hygiene products.” Thomas said, and Nico smiled, nodding. The purple marker wrote one final message, before settling down on the table in a final manner.

‘My name is Virgil.’ It said simply, and Nico nodded, a gentle smile on his face.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Virgil. And you too, Remus.” He said, and he watched the green marker hesitate midair, as though surprised he’d mentioned it.

‘This would be easier if you could hear us. Or see us.’ A dark blue marker wrote, and Nico nodded.

“I suppose it would. I don’t think I can hear you, but if you had a mirror I might be able to see you all?” He paused “How many of them are there?” He asked Thomas, and Thomas rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Six. They mostly get along.” He said, and Nico nodded.

“That much is to be expected.” He said, and suddenly the closet door opened, though he couldn’t see anyone. A very large mirror was hoisted into the air, rather precariously at that. He thought he heard the faint shout of ‘Remus no!’ before it was launched through the air, though thankfully it was carefully caught and placed down.

The first person he saw was the one who had comforted the one in black and purple, and he was surprised to find that they were holding the mirror with six arms, though once the mirror was set down they somehow retracted four of them. The one in green, presumably Remus, grinned into the mirror, beginning to eat deodorant once more. It was now that he could finally see all of them.

It was quite a sight. The one with six arms also had scales all over the left side of his face, as well as a slitted pupil. He wore black and yellow, and gloves covered his hands, the bowler hat on his head tilting slightly. The one with the dark blue marker looked rather like a teacher, with his glasses, tie, and brain logo on his shirt. He noticed that he, just like all the others, rather resembled Thomas, with some key differences. His eyes were a swirl of navy blue and black, and his hair was distinctively darker than Thomas’. 

Next to him stood a figure that somehow just radiated fatherly vibes. He wore a light blue shirt and what appeared to be a cardigan around his shoulders, though the hood appeared to have cat ears, and glasses exactly like those the teacher-figure wore. He held a light blue marker and smiled brightly when he noticed Nico looking at him, waving to the mirror. He waved back, his own smile widening.

Finally, there was the prince figure he’d first seen, brighter than anyone else. His white shirt was practically blinding, and his red sash was the most vibrant he’d ever seen. Golden music notes were placed along his shirt, and- was that a katana strapped to his back? Regardless, he wore a red marker, and he looked the closest to Thomas. He also looked very similar to Remus, not just in face but in style as well, though Remus had a white streak in his hair and a mustache.

The worried one picked up the purple marker, he guessed just so he could identify who was who, and began to fidget with it, glancing nervously at the mirror. They all began to write their names, and soon he was able to refer to them specifically, which was nice.

‘Hello! Tis I, the great Prince Roman!’ The one in red wrote, and Nico smiled, nodding.

“What are you the prince of?” He asked curiously, and he watched him falter in the mirror, looking at Thomas with a questioning look. Remus rolled his eyes, taking out a weapon - out of nowhere, he may add - and went to hit Roman over the head with it. Roman easily dodged with a sigh, and Nico had to guess that it had happened more times than Roman cared to count. Remus stepped forwards.

‘I’m the Duke, and that’s the boring royal.’ He said, and he watched Roman gasp indignantly, which was a little odd considering he couldn’t hear him - or even see him directly. Patton stepped forwards, resting a hand on Thomas’ shoulder, and he asked him something that Nico couldn’t decipher. Thomas nodded, and Nico glanced back at Thomas - rather than his reflection - only to find Patton actually standing there next to him, no just a marker floating in the air

“Hi kiddo! It’s nice to meet you!” He said, and Nico blinked, surprised.

“Hey.” He said, and now all of them turned their attention to him, though he still could only see their reflections. Patton beamed at him, and he couldn’t help but return the smile. The next to appear was the teacher, Logan.

“I suppose this would be a more efficient way of communicating, rather than writing and watching a mirror.” He said with a sigh, adjusting his tie. 

“Yeah, this is a lot easier actually.” He said, and seconds later Remus appeared, hanging upside down off the table. Thomas frowned, but didn’t do anything.

“I would tell him to stop, but I can’t really do anything about that.” He said, and Nico chuckled. Remus offered him some deodorant, but he politely declined.

“What’s life like? Living with all of them?” He asked, and Thomas shrugged, thinking.

“Hectic. It’s a little strange, but I’m used to it.” He admitted, and Nico nodded. That was to be expected.

“Hello!” Roman boasted, appearing in front of him. Nico waved, though he wondered how crowded Thomas’ house must get with all of them around. 

“Are they able to leave this apartment?” He asked, curious, and Thomas nodded.

“Ohh yeah, they follow me around practically everywhere.” He said, and in the mirror he saw the yellow one - Janus, he remembered - say something to Thomas, and while he couldn’t hear it, he could just tell it was sarcastic. Thomas frowned, looking at Nico with a worried expression.

He saw Virgil practically shaking Thomas in the mirror, a panicked expression on his face as he said thousands of words so fast that Nico couldn’t even dream of deciphering it, though he tried his best. Thomas grew more worried by the second, but finally Thomas shook his head, and Virgil fell silent. He noticed the eyeshadow under Virgil’s eyes started appearing further down his face, almost growing darker? Did it get darker/larger the more worried he was?

“I uh, I have something to admit.” This alone made Virgil curl into himself, and Nico noticed that Janus and Virgil were the only two not comfortable showing themselves directly. Roman laid a gentle hand on Virgil’s shoulder, which looked odd if he actually looked at Roman, just resting his hand on air, and Janus tried to comfort him, though Virgil- did he just hiss at Janus? And Janus hissed back! Or at the very least, that’s what appeared to happen, it was hard to tell without sound. He snapped his attention back to Thomas.

“Whatever it is, you don’t have to be afraid. I’m not going to be upset.” He said earnestly, and Thomas gave him a half-hearted smile, clearly not believing him.

“They, uh, they aren’t ghosts.” He said, and Remus grinned, sitting up for a moment.

“He’s right! I’m a demon!” He said, and Thomas glared.

“That’s still not true, even if you act like one sometimes.” He said, and Remus just grinned.

“Thanks!” Thomas rolled his eyes, looking back at Nico.

“What are they then? If you’re comfortable telling me, of course.” He asked, and Thomas rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking more worried than he’d ever seen Thomas. This was clearly something important, and he focused all of his attention on Thomas.

“They’re actually, I guess, parts of me?” He said, though it came out more of a question. Nico frowned in confusion.

“What do you mean?” He asked, and Thomas sighed.

“They’re the different parts of my personality. Logan is logic, Patton is morality, Virgil is anxiety, Janus is Deceit, and Remus and Roman are my creativity.” He said, and Nico blinked. Whatever he had expected, it wasn’t this.

“I guess that would explain why they all look like you.” He said, and Virgil suddenly appeared, a panicked look on his face. 

“You’re not upset? You don’t hate us? Why-” Janus finally appeared, holding Virgil back. Nico didn’t bat an eye when he used all six arms to contain the anxious - aspect? He really didn’t know what they were.

“I mean, this is certainly surprising, but it’s not really any more strange than you being ghosts. It actually explains a lot of things, like why you follow Thomas around, why you all look alike, why you’re constantly talking to Thomas.” He said, and Virgil relaxed slightly, though not by much. 

“Wow, you haven’t run screaming yet? That’s a surprise.” Remus said, back to eating deodorant. Nico glanced at him, growing a little more confused. If he was Thomas’ creativity, then- ?

“He’s also my intrusive thoughts, which is so fun.” Thomas said sarcastically, and Remus rolled his eyes.

“I’m right here ya know.” He said, though he didn’t look all too upset.

“I know.” Thomas said resignedly, and Nico smiled.

“Your life must be wild with them around all the time.” He said, and Thomas shrugged.

“They aren’t  _ always  _ with me, at least not physically.” He said, and Nico quirked an eyebrow, curious. “They often prefer to yell at me from  _ inside  _ my head, rather than being physically present.” He said, an almost annoyed yet still amused smile on his face.

“Ah. Must be fun.” He said, and Thomas laughed. 

“Eh, you win some, you lose some. It makes existential crises extra fun.” He said, and Nico snorted.

“I bet.” He said, and they shared smiles. Patton beamed at the both of them before grabbing Janus and - sinking through the floor?

“Oh yeah, they can do that. That’s how they go back to the mindscape.” At Nico’s confused look he elaborated. “That’s what they call whatever place exists in my head that they go to when they’re not here.” He explained, and Nico nodded. He supposed it made as much sense as it would ever, and he smiled.

Sure, things were weird. And sure, he  _ really  _ wasn’t expecting any of this, from the cute guy he liked being haunted, to the ghosts casually interacting with him, to him actually being haunted by himself, or any of the other strange things going on with these parts of his personality. But what really mattered to Nico?

Thomas had trusted him enough to show him these parts of himself. The ones he wasn’t entirely proud of, that he was scared to share. That he knew could break whatever chance they had. He had trusted him enough to open up to him about sensitive parts of his life - which meant even more now that he knew how severe his anxiety was. He wondered how Thomas had ever managed to speak to him if he was this worried all the time, but he was grateful he’d had the courage to do so.

After all, if it hadn’t been for that moment of courage, he never would’ve started talking to Thomas, and then, well, the past 2 months of his life wouldn’t have been  _ nearly  _ as happy as they had been. He was sure the fondness was spilling over to his expression, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

“Thank you.” He said, and Thomas paused, a confused smile on his face. Virgil stared, but Nico didn’t notice.

“For what?” Thomas asked, and Roman was nearly vibrating with excitement. Thomas may be an oblivious bastard, but he could clearly see the lovesick expression on Nico’s face. If only he could convince Virgil that it wasn’t secretly a look of hatred. Remus took one look at the lovey-dovey exchange about to go down and sank out with a groan, Logan following quickly behind him. There was no point sticking around. Nico ignored them both.

“For trusting me. You didn’t have to tell me any of this, but you showed me something about yourself that you were obviously scared to tell me. Thank you.” He said, and this time he noticed the shift. Thomas was stunned, what was he supposed to say? But the light flickered on behind him, the room growing brighter, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Virgil’s eyeshadow change once more - to a bright purple, fading into white. If the darker it got the more anxious he was, then he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of how Thomas was feeling now.

And if they ended up chatting for hours, completely forgetting the two ecstatic sides watching them? Well, that was something for them to know, and Virgil and Roman to silently squeal about later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaahh! This was so fun to write! My heart is bursting from the pureness, honestly, Thomas had no right to make this episode so pure!


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the people who left comments, you have given me The Motivation

It had been six months now since they started dating, 8 months since they’d first met, and honestly, Nico had never felt luckier. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten someone as amazing as Thomas to fall for him, unaware that Thomas thought the same about him. He’d gotten used to randomly seeing the Sides around whenever he and Thomas were together, though sometimes they’d remain invisible.

He’d gotten much better at recognizing when they were there, even if they didn’t show themselves. The weirdest thing he’d had to adjust to however was speaking to the Sides one on one, without Thomas there. Sure, Thomas was at his apartment, but he’d be asleep, or in another room, or just otherwise preoccupied, and yet the Sides were able to function almost entirely separately from him.

He’d had at least 1 one-on-one conversation with each side at this point, and while each of them was different, he could really see how they were parts of Thomas. Each of them had something wonderful about them that carried over to Thomas - yes, even Remus, though it was harder to see the connection - and he was surprised at how comfortable they were with him.

Thomas had admitted that he was the first person he’d revealed the sides to; while his friends knew something was up, he thought they’d think he was crazy, and he didn’t want to lose them, so Nico was the first person any of the sides had directly interacted with. And yet they were all so happy to speak with him, spoke so easily as though they’d been talking with him for years. Even Virgil was more than happy to talk to him, even if he was nervous doing so. 

He had noticed, however, that while Thomas said that they rarely were so happy that their ‘tells’ showed, more often than not he noticed them. Whenever they were  _ extremely  _ happy, Virgil’s eyeshadow would turn purple, Roman’s lamp turned on, and though he saw the other four less often, he noticed that Janus’ scales would become a much brighter yellow, the white tuft in Remus’ hair turned a bright green, Patton’s blinds would open, and a lit candle would appear on the table behind Logan.

None of them seemed to notice when these things happened, too caught up in their joy to care, and their happiness was infectious. Whenever even one of the tells showed up Nico couldn’t help but smile, happy he could make even one of them happy enough that it physically affected them.

He’d heard from Thomas’ friends that he was a bubbly person, but Thomas was genuinely the happiest person he’d met, and he couldn’t help but wonder if that was because of him. Sure, he cared about himself and all, but how could he make someone so amazing as Thomas so happy? 

It wasn’t until he showed up at Thomas’ apartment while he was taking a nap that he really understood.

He was greeted with a flying hug from Virgil, which on its own was shocking enough, but when Virgil pulled back he had a giddy smile on his face, and sure enough his eyeshadow was purple. Looking around, he noticed the open blinds, the turned on lamp, and the small candle, flickering slightly. Virgil grinned at him, practically shaking with energy.

“I just need to say,  _ thank you _ .” He said, and Nico gave a confused smile.

“For what?” He asked, and he noticed the other sides making themselves visible throughout the room. 

Remus was sprawled on the counter, his hair green as he stared at the ceiling, Logan was sitting on the couch, reading a book on astronomy, a fond smile on his face, though he did glance up when Nico walked in. Roman was swooning dramatically on the couch, a few feet away from Logan, though they both carefully avoided the other so as not to annoy them. Patton and Janus were speaking excitedly in a hushed tone, and though he was facing with his scales to the window, he caught the ever-so-slight glow of yellow radiating off his face. Virgil beamed at him.

“You brought a happiness to Thomas’ life that we hadn’t felt in years, if ever. I can never thank you enough for the pure joy that you’ve brought him, that you’ve brought us all.” He said, and Nico was stunned. Before he could say anything he was thrown into another embrace.

His heart fluttered in his chest. If all of his sides were practically glowing just because he was there, then Thomas must’ve truly felt happy to be around him. He knew a sappy smile came to his face, but he didn’t bother trying to hide it. Virgil grabbed him by the hand and dragged him over to the couch, and Nico allowed himself to be thrown down unceremoniously on the cushions. 

He let out a giddy laugh, and Remus was the first to throw himself onto Nico, despite being all the way in the kitchen. Soon there was a cuddle pile, with him on the bottom, and he couldn’t stop smiling. If they all loved him this much, and all of them were parts of Thomas then…

Then Thomas really must love him. It all felt like a dream, but the warmth above him assured him that it was real. He fell asleep safe in the notion that he was  _ loved,  _ so much, and that wasn’t going away any time soon.

Some time later Thomas woke up from his nap, and he laughed to himself at the sight of his sides, all sprawled on top of Nico. Nico really must love him to allow his sides to just haphazardly lay on top of him like that. He smiled fondly, taking his place in the cuddle pile. He could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very tempted to make this a series, it's just too pure and I need more of it in my life. Let me know if you'd be interested in that!


End file.
